Blue-blooded farmer goes for tissue culture

Panna, MP, Oct 10 (UNI) It was a smooth transition for aristocrat Lokendra Singh to join the select gathering of progressive farmers.

Changing with times, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Panna, Madhya Pradesh, has tied up with a paper mill of Andhra Pradesh to produce high quality teak saplings through tissue culture. He has produced 30,000 teak saplings this year.

The former BJP Lok Sabha member earned additional income by growing bamboo. His annual income range from Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh, he added.

Clad in 'dhoti' and 'baniyan' Mr Singh worked friskly in his orchard like an ordinary farmer. ''At present there is no aristocracy and everybody is equal in a democracy'', he said adding he enjoyed his present lifestyle.

Mr Singh's ancestors earlier owned Panna mines, which remained the sole operative diamond mine in the country with annual production of 15,000 carats of both gem and industrial variety stones.